AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP THURSDAY Round 3 tee times

     SCROLL DOWN PAST REPORT FOR THIRD ROUND TEE TIMES

TOP SEED NIENABER KOs WEILAND TO REACH

LAST 32 AT BALGOWNIE LINKS

R and A NEWS RELEASE
 Top seed Wilco Nienaber eased his way into the third round of The 123rd Amateur Championship with a comfortable 5 and 4 victory over Niclas Weiland at Royal Aberdeen GC today

The 18-year-old South African (pictured right) continued the dominating form which saw him lead both rounds of stroke play qualifying to progress to the last 32.

His countryman Matt Saulez recorded the championship’s first hole in one at the 11th during his match with Benjamin Jones but it failed to inspire him to victory as he went down by two holes to the Englishman.
The highest-ranked player in the field, Viktor Hovland, booked his place in the third round by coming through his match against Lukas Euler by 5 and 4. The Norwegian, fifth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking^TM, dispatched the German, who defeated Mexican Alvaro Ortiz in the preliminary round to set up the match with Hovland.
The impressive Norwegian, who plays collegiate golf at Oklahoma State, will now take on England’s Thomas Forster in the third round on Thursday morning.
Walker Cup player Matthew Jordan composed himself after surrendering a four-hole lead against Finland’s Matias Honkala. After his opponent missed a 5ft putt for the match on the 19^th, the world No.7 and current Lytham Trophy champion holed from 15ft at the 20^th to win the hole and progress to the next round.

Forres’ Jeff Wright (today's picture on right) defeated Euan McIntosh by one hole to come out on top in the battle of the Scots. Wright is one of three home players to continue alongside Nairn’s Sandy Scott and Stuart Easton from Irvine. Scott defeated German Claudio Consul 3 and 2 while Easton knocked out Australia’s Will Heffernan by one hole.

In an exciting finish on the 19^th hole, Ireland’s James Sugrue booked his place in the third round after Australian Kyle Michel lost a ball off his tee shot. With last year’s leading qualifier Caolan Rafferty on the bag, the Cork golfer parred the final hole to take advantage of his opponent’s mistake.
His countryman and St Andrews squad member Robin Dawson followed him through with a 4 and 2 win over David Ravetto from France.
 From the Irish contingent, John Murphy, Conor Purcell and Rowan Lester also progressed to Thursday’s third round.

Key quotes

Wilco Nienaber

“It’s satisfying, you can easily fall out in the first round so it’s a good start.
“We had different weather and different wind today so it was tough on the front nine playing into the wind and I think I played nicely. It’s tough so I’m really happy to get the win and go through to tomorrow.
“Now I’m going to go have some chocolate and watch my team-mates, then just do the same I’ve been doing all the time.

Viktor Hovland

“I’m just really maximising my game right now and getting it round really well. I hit it really well off the tee, mainly in the fairways and hit a couple of really close shots coming into the greens as well as a few putts. It was the same putting from the first two rounds and then I had it a lot better.

“I really like this (links golf conditions), obviously in Norway we have the same kind of weather but also in the States we have to qualify in the winter and it’s five degrees Celcius, blowing 30 out of the north and you just have to play in it. So its similar. You just have to be patient.
“I don’t think about who I’m playing too much. I know if I play really well my opponents are going to have a hard time beating me. I’m just focused on that.
“It would be awesome (to play in The Open). A good friend of mine Kristoffer Reitan played in the US Open last week and just following him, seeing the pictures of how he experienced it, who he got to play with and the crowds. That’s why you play this game. So, yeah, it would mean a lot to here and be invited to the Majors.

Matthew Jordan
“I’m very relieved. I played really well and putted well too. I didn’t make many mistakes until the 14^th and then three-putted which left me four up with five to play.
From there on in the match just seemed to switch, he had a bounce in his step. It just felt like a real struggle and he birdied 15 and 16 but then the last few holes panned out okay. Whenever you win on extra holes it’s just a massive relief.
“Because he missed a putt on 19 from about six feet it finally gave me a bit of momentum, edge and belief that I can still win this. I’d missed a couple of outside chances on the 18^th and 19^th so felt I was still due to hole a putt from that range. I actually had that putt in the morning so I knew exactly what it did, so as soon as I hit it I knew it was good.”
James Sugrue
“I was one up coming down the last and I three-putted from the front edge of the green. He got a good up and down from about 20 yards short where I should have holed a 4-footer for the win but missed it. Thankfully I won down the 19^th.
“He hit a pretty bad shot off the tee and ended up losing the ball. From there he hit driver and made his bogey, I just hit one down the fairway then onto the green for two putts to win and fortunately it was pretty stress free.
Sandy Scott
“I feel like I was consistent within all parts of my game. I didn’t really give much away and I was just kind of hanging on and making him win holes more than anything rather than me giving away holes, so that was very good today. Overall everything is pretty solid.
“It’s great, I’m just taking it a match at a time and trying to get as far as possible. It’s the furthest I’ve got in the championship so I’m really pleased.”
Jeff Wright
“I was down the whole way to be honest, two down through nine but I was playing well so I was confident, and I made a few birdies on the back nine, and got it back to all square after 14.

“Euan (McIntosh) three-putted 17 to put me one up and on the last I misjudged the wind on my second shot after hitting a good tee shot. I thought the wind was helping off the right but it wasn’t and I ended up too short. I didn’t hit the best chip to about 25 feet past but managed to hole it. Euan’s birdie putt just burned the edge.

“I’m delighted. I’ve not made the cut at The Amateur before and this is my third year, so I was quite happy. I did feel once I got into the match-play I would be quite dangerous.

“I’ve played this course probably 20 or 30 times in the past so I know it really well. I love it. I got to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Amateur when it was played here two years ago so I’ve had some good memories from this place, I like it here.”

+Spectators are very welcome at Balgownie Links. No admission charge. No car parking charge. Public catering facilities. Watch the best amateur golfers in the world.

Seeding numbers given for players who were in the top 22 of the final stroke-play totals

TEE TIMES FOR THURSDAY'S ROUNDS

7.30 Wilco Nienaber (S Africa) 1 v Perry Cohen (Switzerland).

7.39 Tom Sloman (Taunton and Pickeridge) 13 v Jeff Wright (Forres).

7.48 Ben Hutchinson (Howley Hall) 8 v Rowan Lester (Hermitage, Ireland).

7.57 Malcolm Mitchell (S Africa) 12 v Jovan Rebula (S Africa) 19

8.06 Benjamin Jones (Northamptonshire) v Timo Vahlenkamp (Germany).

8.15 Mitch Waite (Filton, England) 11 v Stuart Easton (Irvine) 

8.24 Kyle Michel (Australia) 5 v Christoffer Palsson (Sweden) 

8.33 Stefano Mazzoli (Italy) 9 v Therion Nel (S Africa).

8.42 Matthew Jordan (Royal Liverpool) 18 v Conor Purcell (Portmarnock, Ireland).

8.51 Adam Blomme (Sweden) v Blake Collyer (Australia) 7

9.00 David Micheluzzi (Australia) v Blake Wagoner (USA) 16

9.09 Sandy Scott (Nairn) v Raul Pereda (Mexico)

9.18 Robin Dawson (Tramore, Ireland) 17 v Victor Pastor (Spain).

9.27 Marcos Montenegro (Argentina)  v Elis Svard (Sweden)

9.36 Walker Lee (US)  20 v John Murphy (Kinsale, Ireland) 14.

9.45 Thomas Forster (Elton Furze, England) v Victor Hovland (Norway) 2.

FOURTH ROUND (last 16)

1.10pm Nienaber or Cohen v Sloman or Wright.

1.20pm Hutchinson or Lester v Mitchell or Rebula

1.30pm Jones or Vahlenkamp v Waite or Easton.

1.40pm Michel or Palsson v Mazzoli or Nel.

2.00pm Jordan or Purcell v Blomme or Collyer

2.10pm Michelussi or Wagoner v Scott or Pereda

2.20pm Dawson or Pastor v Montenegro or Svard

2.30pm Lee or Murphy v Forster or Hovland


SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW ALL THE MATCH PLAY RESULTS